GenAI 101 - How Generative AI is Rewriting the Rules for ML Engineers (And How to Adapt and get Started)

Some Thoughts and Approaches to get started in GenAI space

It was around late 2022 when I first realized something fundamental was changing in machine learning. After years of fine-tuning BERT models for text classification and training CNNs for computer vision tasks, suddenly everyone was talking about ChatGPT and generative AI.

I remember thinking, "This is just another trend that will settle down." But man, was I wrong.

We're witnessing a paradigm shift unlike anything I've seen in my years as an ML practitioner. Having now implemented both paradigms in production environments, I can tell you this: understanding this shift isn't just good career advice – it's essential if you want to remain relevant in today's AI landscape. Moreover, a firm grasp of generative AI is crucial for acing ML Design interviews, where in-depth knowledge of cutting-edge techniques can truly set you apart

In this post, I'll break down the key differences between discriminative and generative approaches, explain why the latter has exploded in popularity, and share prac…